KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 — Have you ever imagined what it would be like when the characters of a comic book, Lawak Kampus, join forces with the characters from Boboiboy Galaxy, a Malaysian animated series, in a mission to save the world?

It must be very exciting for the fans when they get to follow how their favourite Lawak Kampus characters, such as Vanness, Froggy and Aditas, that are well known for wild shenanigans, join forces with Boboiboy Galaxy team such as Boboiboy, Fang, Yaya Yah and Ying to save the world after they got abducted by aliens.

Dubbed as the first collaboration between local comic and animation line, Lawak Kampus creator, Chong Kah Wee or popularly known as Keith, said the move was a gesture of appreciation to their die-hard fans who had been supporting them since the comedic comic made its debut in 2003.

"What a way to celebrate the 15th anniversary if not by injecting some new ideas for our fans to enjoy apart from trying to engage the fans from other ‘universe’, especially the Boboiboy Galaxy followers.

"It all started last year when I contacted and pitched the idea to Animonsta Studios, the local animation company that produced Boboiboy Galaxy, to publish this special edition comic and I was elated to know that they were interested in this big project,” he told Bernama when met at the launch of the 15th anniversary exhibition of Lawak Kampus comics at the National Art Gallery here, yesterday.

When asked on why he chose Boboiboy Galaxy, he said both Boboiboy Galaxy and Lawak Kampus were popular among schoolchildren and that he wanted to leverage the opportunity to strengthen Lawak Kampus brand in this country.

The 42-year-old artist from Taman Desa said the production of this special edition comic titled Boboiboy Galaxy x Lawak Kampus: Superior, was very challenging as it involved a lot of hard work between the two parties, and by far his biggest project since he ventured into the comic world 16 years ago.

He said Boboiboy Galaxy x Lawak Kampus: Superior comic can be purchased at major bookstores nationwide from August 31 at RM25 each.

On the exhibition which is the second held at Balai Seni Lukis Negara after the first in 2013, Keith said this time around, the visitors would get to enjoy a 3D (three-dimensional) Lawak Kampus diorama (clay art work figure).

"Apart from that, the exhibition also gives the visitors the opportunity to view eight Lawak Kampus masterpieces which were inspired by the works of renowned artists from around the globe, as well as to see Keith’s work corner and to visit Gerai Lawak Kampus which sells limited merchandise and comics,” he said.

"There are 100 original sketches on display which will give the visitors an idea what the comics look like before they were published and most of the sketches are also available for purchase from RM200 each,” he said.

On his next move, the 3D animation graduate from Sheridan College, Canada, who admired Fujiko F. Fujio, the Japanese comic artist that created the famous Doraemon comic, said he did not think of any at the moment as he wanted to focus on producing more good artworks for his readers.

Since making his mark in this comic line, Keith has cemented his place as one of the best comic artists in South-east Asia and received numerous accolades such as Best Overseas Comic at the 3rd Oriental Animation and Comic Competition in 2007 and Outstanding Comic Artist at the China-Asean Top Business Award in 2017.

The two-week exhibition themed "Non-Stop Laughs” is open to public with free admission from 10am till 6pm daily until July 25. — Bernama